What is a personalized wedding ceremony?
As a professional wedding officiant in Indianapolis, I have years of experience. I've learned A personalized wedding ceremony can be defined in several ways. What makes it personal to you is unique to you as a couple. Each couple has different wants and needs when it comes to their wedding ceremony. Most guests just want to hear you say “I do,” watch you put rings on each others fingers, hear you be pronounced married, and kiss! How you do that is what goes into your ceremony. I've broke it down into 4 different options that you can read below and decide what is right for you. How you personalize your ceremony is what differentiates my pricing.
I know to be a great salesperson I'm supposed to show you the value of what you are paying for before I put a price on it. If you just want to see the prices click here for a full rundown. This page explains those things in a different way to help you think about your wedding ceremony and make a more well thought out decision.
I know to be a great salesperson I'm supposed to show you the value of what you are paying for before I put a price on it. If you just want to see the prices click here for a full rundown. This page explains those things in a different way to help you think about your wedding ceremony and make a more well thought out decision.
Photo by Brittany Erwin Photography at The Indianapolis Zoo and White River Gardens
Personalized Wedding Ceremony Option 1
Basic personalization goes like this: I have pre written wedding ceremony scripts. Traditional, Christian, non-religious, multi-faith, secular humanist, I have a ceremony explaining the Jewish wedding customs. Every time I go to perform a ceremony I change the names of your chosen ceremony and maybe add a unity ceremony. For many couples, this is perfect. There are a lot of very well written wedding ceremonies available. You can say you love “The Modern Romantic Ceremony,” I’ll come and perform it - inserting your names - and all is well with the world. You may or may not choose to exchange vows you’ve written yourself - it’s up to you. I do this all the time and have many happily married couples. All the hard work is done. You don’t need me to “personalize” your wedding ceremony any more than this and you really don’t need to pay anything extra for a ceremony you already think is perfect for you. Yeah! All of the hard work I put into my websites has paid off and you found what you were looking for - possibly right from your phone.
Personalized Wedding Ceremony Option 2
Your wedding ceremony can be personalized a little more: You might like to combine a Christian and non-religious wedding ceremony to find a happy medium. You might add special readings, prayers or blessings, use different vows or ring exchanges and personalize or create a unity ceremony for you. There is an amazing amount of information available to make this an easy and fun experience. I have gathered a great deal of information and published it on my websites and made it easy for anyone to use. I’ve got the expanded version and also the abbreviated version - to make it a little easier. You can use words others have written and exchange a few of them to make them suit you. Many couples LOVE this process and don’t need me to help them. But, some don’t love it, some don’t have time for it, and others want to love it but need help finding the love. There are too many options! In this situation, you need to decide - is it worth the $150 for some help with this?
Personalized Wedding Ceremony Option 3
I can completely personalize your wedding ceremony from start to finish. I will use all of the tools I’ve gathered and more. Often I will do more research - many of the “extras” on my ceremony site came from special requests - Like Disney, Harry Potter, Dr. Who or Star Wars. Personalized handfastings like Game of Thrones or Braveheart or The Princess Bride. Quotes from the Office comparing the definition of “wedding” to “welding.” You might want a wedding with personality!! You might want me to include your own love story in your wedding ceremony. With that, I’ll ask more questions and ask you to provide more detailed answers. You may want to join your Eastern Orthodox traditions with your partners secular humanism. This is what I do!!!
Personalized Wedding Ceremony Option 4
I’m getting married, I’m planning a wedding. I don’t care that much about the ceremony, (I care more about what I’m wearing!) let’s just hire someone to take care of this! No worries! I’ve got you covered! I’ve married thousands of couples from just about every walk of life. I know my job and my craft well enough to be intuitive to your wants and needs. I have years of personal life experience to draw from. I’m familiar with different spiritual paths. I’ve lived overseas, I’m married to a naturalized citizen, I have children with special needs, I’ve worked for huge corporations and this is my 10th year as a self employed, small business owner. I’ve got extensive professional customer service experience and started my working career working in four and five star hotels. I can find a happy medium at just about any wedding.
What is the best wedding ceremony option for you?
In between these options, you can decide for yourself if you need to pay me for the personalized part. If you are great with option 1? Great! I actually have 6 ceremonies to choose from, let me know which one.
If option 2 sounds like what you are looking for, you need to decide if it’s something you can do by yourself or if you need help. You might want to consider if you want to pay $150 for help or do it yourself. Many couples have done this themselves and created amazing ceremonies. I try to share them on my ceremony blog so everyone can read them and use them if they want. When you choose to personalize the ceremony yourself the only editing I do is for clarity. I will make sure when I read it out loud that it sounds right and flows as a ceremony should. If you think you need more, you will want to pay for the personalized ceremony.
The personalization option 3 is $150. I think it’s an amazing deal. I know how many hours I actually put into the process. If I was getting paid by the hour like a lawyer counting hours I’d get paid a lot more! I used to sit down and think I’d knock out a ceremony in 20 minutes. In reality, it generally takes about 2 hours just to put the first draft together. That doesn’t include composing emails and answering emails. Some emails take the better part of an hour to compose. I include details and explanations. You get a big picture of your ceremony from start to finish.
When you choose a personalized ceremony you get a much more personalized overall experience. Meeting ahead of time, corresponding through email, choosing aspects of your wedding ceremony that you love and making them better. Gathering for the rehearsal to bring the ceremony document to life, knowing how it’s going to look and flow on your wedding day - laughing at your dad or whoever is walking down the aisle as they try not to cry or make really bad (good) jokes. Then, knowing as you wake up on your wedding day and start the most amazing day of your life - to date - that you are going to walk into your ceremony and enjoy the experience. You are going to be in the moment - because a lot went into making that moment and you are ready to savor it. The I do’s, tears, and laughter.
Now, I’m not going to lie. You might not want this kind of experience. You might just want to delegate your ceremony to a professional that will just “take care of it.” That’s why I point out option 4. A wedding ceremony is very much of a legal, perfunctory experience. Your ceremony can get that job done with or without the rest of the emotional experience. You want me to present you with 3 ceremony options for you to edit, perform the rehearsal, professionally perform a dignified wedding ceremony, complete the legal paperwork and be done.
If option 2 sounds like what you are looking for, you need to decide if it’s something you can do by yourself or if you need help. You might want to consider if you want to pay $150 for help or do it yourself. Many couples have done this themselves and created amazing ceremonies. I try to share them on my ceremony blog so everyone can read them and use them if they want. When you choose to personalize the ceremony yourself the only editing I do is for clarity. I will make sure when I read it out loud that it sounds right and flows as a ceremony should. If you think you need more, you will want to pay for the personalized ceremony.
The personalization option 3 is $150. I think it’s an amazing deal. I know how many hours I actually put into the process. If I was getting paid by the hour like a lawyer counting hours I’d get paid a lot more! I used to sit down and think I’d knock out a ceremony in 20 minutes. In reality, it generally takes about 2 hours just to put the first draft together. That doesn’t include composing emails and answering emails. Some emails take the better part of an hour to compose. I include details and explanations. You get a big picture of your ceremony from start to finish.
When you choose a personalized ceremony you get a much more personalized overall experience. Meeting ahead of time, corresponding through email, choosing aspects of your wedding ceremony that you love and making them better. Gathering for the rehearsal to bring the ceremony document to life, knowing how it’s going to look and flow on your wedding day - laughing at your dad or whoever is walking down the aisle as they try not to cry or make really bad (good) jokes. Then, knowing as you wake up on your wedding day and start the most amazing day of your life - to date - that you are going to walk into your ceremony and enjoy the experience. You are going to be in the moment - because a lot went into making that moment and you are ready to savor it. The I do’s, tears, and laughter.
Now, I’m not going to lie. You might not want this kind of experience. You might just want to delegate your ceremony to a professional that will just “take care of it.” That’s why I point out option 4. A wedding ceremony is very much of a legal, perfunctory experience. Your ceremony can get that job done with or without the rest of the emotional experience. You want me to present you with 3 ceremony options for you to edit, perform the rehearsal, professionally perform a dignified wedding ceremony, complete the legal paperwork and be done.
